Surviving Mars Relaunched Review – The Aftermath of Colonizing a New Planet

If you’ve always been a science fiction fan, or simply concerned about what would happen if humans destroyed the Earth, Surviving Mars Relaunched has the answers you seek without requiring global extinction first. Forget waiting for somebody else to figure it out, you are the architect of your colony. You also have to get involved in politics and be present in the decision-making process that dictates whether your colony will benefit from new Martian laws, or adhere to the ways of Earth (maybe don’t do that though).

One Small Step For…You Know the Rest

Fortunately, Mars isn’t just a barren planet that may or may not host alien life; it’s ripe with potential. That potential is for you to discover with some imagination and limited resources. You must get energy and reliable air, or it’s basically game over. Your generators can stop working due to bad weather, such as freezing winds. Not to mention that everything in your colony needs constant maintenance and more materials to keep everything running. This is just part of the initial phase, before the first humans have even arrived. You must prove that your outpost is functional and that a single faulty cable won’t bring everything down. Even so, if you manage to strike a balance with your habitat and safety measures, your colonists will finally arrive.

Keeping a colony of humans working like clockwork is no easy task. However, you will have the thrill of being an explorer, colonizer, and survivor on the red planet. Don’t expect a radical change of scenery; you’ll be stuck between red dunes, machinery, and the sparse greenery of the domes. It IS a barren planet after all. Don’t expect to understand everything at first, and for your first colony to really thrive. You’ll discover that progress takes time, and sometimes you don’t have enough to make a decision that doesn’t end life as you know it. You’ll have to make some sacrifices and tough choices along the way.

Life in the Red Rock

Your first decision will be which quadrant of the grid on Mars you should land on. Depending on your quadrant, you will find deposits such as concrete, metal, and more that you should pay close attention to. Fortunately, the interface, packed with icons and information, will help you keep track of what materials you need or how much energy you are consuming at any given time.

Speaking of Research, you will have several categories to choose from, and you will decide which to research first. You can decide whether to improve your drones or machinery to boost your production, or whether to improve your scanners to scan the map faster. You will spend most of your time trying to improve your colony, building, and repairing buildings. But as you progress, you will be able to manage your population, their homes, and what they create to improve their quality of life.

Another place where you’ll spend a lot of time is Politics. You should pay close attention to the Politics menu every time a session opens, as different factions will have specific buffs, and you can vote for the one that benefits you the most. However, the factions function like a senate, favoring one motion over another and changing from time to time.

Also, I strongly recommend you do the tutorials. The tutorial’s various stages will be extensive and contain a lot of information, which will be very helpful for understanding the basics. Even for players who are familiar with management games, Surviving Mars Relaunched has a ton of menus, options, and submenus. Most will have quite a few complications throughout the game and will require a couple of experimental colonies before understanding the gameplay to some degree.

Welcome to Your New Colony

As a newbie in space, the experience can be daunting for players not used to strategy games, as the most valuable resource is your real-life patience. Each session takes a long time to progress, even at maximum speed. In addition, you have to make almost surgical decisions, because a single mistake can doom the entire future of your colony. But this is precisely what makes it feel like a true survival experience, the challenge, because when you can’t get resources so easily, you can be stranded for several Sols. The learning curve could be slow for many, and you’ll probably restart your colony several times until you understand the mechanics well.

For those who played the original Surviving Mars, the most significant differences you’ll find are the political system, fewer bugs, and better graphics. So it may not be worth it for veterans. If it’s your first time on Mars like me, Surviving Mars Relaunched has a lot more to offer and is an easy recommendation.

Review copy provided by the publisher.